Apprentices

Many opportunities for participation are available – both on stage and off. Help will be needed with set construction and painting, costuming, publicity, ticket sales and House Staff. We plan to do as much construction and painting work as possible during rehearsal times to allow family members of the cast to share in the fun.

The Storyline

At the money-losing Surf and Sand Playhouse in Cape Cod, a group of young apprentices complain of their exploitation by the owner Seymour Fleming, who is even threatening to cancel the apprentice’s own musical revue. Their leader Valentine (Val) and the rest of the apprentices are determined to do the show for the sake of the theatre's co-owner Bunny Byron, who has to work for Fleming because of the money her father owed him. Terry and Gus have a love-hate relationship, not improved when Terry tries flirting with Lee Calhoun, the insufferable author of "The Deep North", the play in rehearsal.

Val falls for the glamorous Jennifer Owen, the juvenile lead in the play, and his feelings are soon reciprocated. She sneaks away from her dominant mother, Phyllis, to watch Val rehearsing the revue. A passionate embrace is interrupted by young Susie, who is crazy about Val. He sees Susie as a younger-sister type, but for her he is "My Funny Valentine."

Jennifer can't stand Lee's play and threatens to quit, but her mother solves the issue by scheduling a second week's run of the play leaving no time for the apprentices' revue. Jennifer backs down, but the kids and Bunny are going to fight it all the way

At the start of Act II, Val is upset that Jennifer has let them down. Lee arrives, hunting for Jennifer, who has slipped the leash again - the kids inveigle him into the cellar and lock him in, but he escapes, only to overhear Jennifer, who has come to tell the kids that she is planning to fake sickness to get out of the play and he slinks off to tell Fleming.

Fleming announces that the boy-wonder producer Steve Edwards (who is known to 'have a thing' for Jennifer) is coming to see the play, whereupon Susie and Terry hatch separate plans ..........

In Steve's hotel room, both girls are caught by Gus, who trundles Terry out, but Val gets a shock when he bursts in on Steve and Susie - not realizing that they are brother and sister. He leaves in righteous fury, which delights Susie.

The apprentices mischievously succeed in turning "The Deep North" into a shambles of miscued entrances, sound effects and collapsing props, and sneak off to the barn to do the revue, where Steve joins them. Of course, Fleming finds them, but is out of time in firing them all, as Steve has just handed them a check to option their show, so Fleming gets the debt paid off, Val and Susie are reunited - as the Press Agent says at curtain "A musical comedy can have a happy ending!"